Summer movie season arrives with release of "Iron Man 3"

Published: Wednesday, April 24, 2013 at 06:57 PM.

Alright moviegoers – neither Batman nor the superhero team The Avengers are walking though that theater door this summer.

Larger than life figures still loom over the first half of the summer blockbuster season: Iron Man. Jay Gatsby. Captain James T. Kirk. The Lone Ranger. Alan Garner.

However, there likely won’t be any flicks that match the magnitude of last year’s blockbusters, when “The Avengers” and “The Dark Knight Rises,” respectively, became the third- and eighth-highest grossing movies ever.

The upshot is the overall depth of this year’s summer movies easily surpasses last year (“Battleship” and “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” really?), meaning lots of folks will have to pick and choose which ones to see in the theater and which to wait to see on DVD and Blu -ray.

To help you make your choices, here’s a look at eight of the biggest films coming to theaters in the next two months.

Alright moviegoers – neither Batman nor the superhero team The Avengers are walking though that theater door this summer.

Larger than life figures still loom over the first half of the summer blockbuster season: Iron Man. Jay Gatsby. Captain James T. Kirk. The Lone Ranger. Alan Garner.

However, there likely won’t be any flicks that match the magnitude of last year’s blockbusters, when “The Avengers” and “The Dark Knight Rises,” respectively, became the third- and eighth-highest grossing movies ever.

The upshot is the overall depth of this year’s summer movies easily surpasses last year (“Battleship” and “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” really?), meaning lots of folks will have to pick and choose which ones to see in the theater and which to wait to see on DVD and Blu -ray.

To help you make your choices, here’s a look at eight of the biggest films coming to theaters in the next two months.

Story: Tony Stark embarks on a quest to find those responsible for destroying his personal world and is forced to rely on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. Along the way, he discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

Story: Based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel, the film follows writer Nick Carraway as he leaves the Midwest for New York City in 1922. Nick lands next door to mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and across the bay from his cousin, Daisy, and her philandering, blue-blood husband. Drawn into the world of the super rich, Nick pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and high-octane tragedy.

Story: Following a shocking act of terror from within its own organization, the crew of The Enterprise is called back to Earth. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk defies regulations to lead his crew on a manhunt to capture a destructive force and bring those responsible to justice.

Story: The third and final film in the comedy franchise, the “ Wolfpack ” – Phil, Stew and Alan Garner – return to Las Vegas. There’s no wedding or bachelor party this time, but that won’t stop everything from going wrong for the group of friends.

Story: An elite FBI squad is pitted against “The Four Horsemen,” a super-team of the world's greatest illusionists that pull off a series of daring heists during their performances and shower stolen profits on their audiences while staying one step ahead of the law.

Story: Six friends are trapped in a Los Angeles house by a series of catastrophic events in this end-of-days comedy. As the world unravels, dwindling supplies and cabin fever threaten their friendships. After discovering they are experiencing the Apocalypse, they must come to terms with why they were left behind and eventually leave the house.

Story: In this “Superman” reboot, a young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this Earth. As an adult, he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do. He must become a hero in order to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for mankind.

Story: Native American spirit warrior Tonto ( Depp ) recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid (Hammer), a man of the law, into a legend of justice and how the two unlikely heroes learned to work together to fight greed and corruption.